As in the film “Eyes Wide Shut,” this is a realm of mystery and enticement. Glamourously-costumed people in masks writhe and embrace, fondling each other on voluptuous couches. The traditional moral standards do not apply in this sensual sanctuary; taboos are transgressed, gender roles subverted. It is the realm of the vampire, the artist, those who transcend boundaries. Although this gala has been designed to celebrate Halloween, it is really an erotic masquerade that happens to feature Halloween trappings—skeletons, fang-shaped candy, etc. This is clearly no children’s trick-or-treat party, no silly scare-fest. The significance of this event goes far beyond the one-day-a-year contemporary celebration we know as Halloween and harkens back to more ancient pagan rituals. Its meaning is timeless, symbolically expressing the forces of life and death, light (fire) and darkness (night), ecstasy and fear. It celebrates the harvest, the sacrifice (death) of the grain creating the nourishment we need to survive the winter. Like the vampire, this masquerade and the symbols associated with Halloween (scythes, skeletons, ghosts, etc.) represent the eternal cycles of nature, life feeding on other forms of life in order to survive, life overcoming death, the libido awakening us from emotional stagnation.
As Karen, Frank, Chris, and his girlfriend Doree arrive at the party, Joshua welcomes them, handing them masks as their “passports.” Explaining the importance of the masks, Joshua tells them, “The masks will protect; the masks will free you. They’ll allow you to find your hidden self, the one you keep buried. The masks will allow you to lose all your inhibitions and all your expectations. Let go. Let go and be who you really are. That is what the Stephen Clay Experience is all about. Let go. Let go.”
The masks give you anonymity, the freedom to explore aspects of yourself you have stifled behind a stale, ill-fitting façade of “normalcy.” You peel off the constricting social veneer you have worn so long you don’t even realize how uncomfortable it has been all these years, and as you place the glistening new mask against your skin, you feel the tingle of exciting possibilities. You are rebirthed into a new self, vital and creative. The magic of masks, used by shamans to channel sacred entities, allows you to experience, at least temporarily, what you dream of becoming. As you connect with the mask and allow its magic to infuse your soul, you nurture the potentials you desire.
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